Bicycle-rack.



J. l. COLEN.

BICYCLE RACK APPLICATION F|LEDJuN22.191e.

Patented J uly ,10, 1917.

JEROME IRWIN GOLEN, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK.

BICYCLE-RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J i115r 10, 1917.

Application filed June 22, 1916. Serial No. 105,206.

To all whom t 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, JEROME IRWIN CoLEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of Vestchester and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Bicycle-Rack, of which thefollowing is a complete, clear, and exact description. v

My invention relates to bicycle racks of a kind suitable for supportingbicycles under conditions for conserving space, holding the bicyclefirmly in position, and enabling it to be released quickly and withcomparatively little effort upon the part of the operator.

More particularly stated, my invention comprehends a rack from which thebicycle is suspended by its front wheel, in such manner that the bicycleis by its own weight held steadily in a lixed position, from which itcan be released in an instant by merely pulling a cord for the purpose.

My invention further contemplates, Ylor the purposes above indicated,the use of a number of separate racks, each being a unit complete withinitself, so that any number of such units can be placed together inpractically the form of a single rack of large size, each unit of therack being disposed in an elevated position, preferably near the ceilingof a room, so that the bicycles occupy a portion of the room nototherwise likely to be occupied.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification, in which like letters indicate like parts in all of thefigures.

Figure 1 is a prespective of a number of my improved racks, as used forsupporting bicycles.

Fig. 2 partly broken away, racks.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the directionindicated by the arrows.

Fig. l is a perspective of a block forming a part of the rack.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a suspension pin and the spring associatedwith such pin for normally holding it in a predetermined position.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section is a view partly in elevationand showing one of the somewhat similar to Fig. 3 but made upon asmaller scale and showing a larger portion of the bicycle.

A wall is shown at 7 and a ceiling atv 8. Engaging this wall and ceilingis a rack which comprises all parts shown in Fig. 2. A pair of end bars9 are connected with a ceiling plate 10 and a wall plate 11, the ceilingplate being provided with holes 12 and the wall plate being similarlyprovided with holes 13. Screws 14, 15 extend through the holes 12, 13 inorder to secure the rack to the ceiling and to the wall.

A pair of flat cross bars 16, 17 extend from the ceiling plate 10 to thewall plate 11 and are parallel with each other. The ceiling plate 10 isprovided with a thickened portion 18 and lthe wall plate 11 is similarlyprovided with a thickened portion 19, these two thickened portions eachbeing located between the cross bars.-

A guide block 2O is provided with holes 21 through which extend screws22, the latter engaging the cross bar 17 and holding the guide blockthereupon.

The guide block 20 is provided` centrally with a hole 23, and extendingthrough this hole is a pin 241. This pin also extends through holes 25with which the cross bars 16, 17 are provided.

A tensile spring 26 of spiral form encircles the pin 2G, and is providedwith an end portion 27 which extends diametrically through the'pin. Thespring 2G is further provided with an end portion 28 which may it into agroove 28"L in the guide block 20, or otherwise held in position The pinis provided with an eye 30, and secured to this eye is a 'Flexibleconnection 31, in this instance a cord, which is threaded through a hole32, and hangs downward. The cord is provided at its lower end with ahandle 32.

The operator, by grasping the handle 32 and pulling upon the cord,stretches or extends the spring 26 and thus causes the pin 24 to move tothe right according to Fig. 2, so as to clear the space between thecross bars 1G, 17. Then the pull upon the cord is relaxed the spring 26reti-acts the pin 24 to normal position, indicated in Fig. 1. Normallythe pin 24 extends across the space between the cross bars 16, 17.

A`l bicycle is shown at 33, its Jfront wheel appearing at 34 and itsrear wheel at 35. The hub of the frontv wheel appears at 36, and is. ofcourse located. at the proximate centerl of the wheel.

The cross barsvlG, 17v are spaced apartv a sufficient distance toaccommodate the front wheel of the bicycle.

The bicycle may be suspended from the pin` 24 and parts associatedtherewith,` as indicated in Figs. l, 3 and 6. VThe pin 24 is so locatedrelatively to the wall 7 that when the bicycle is suspended as indicatedthe point of suspension of the bicycle-that is, the location of' the pin24-is a little closer than the hub 36 to the wall 7. Thus, the weightof' the front wheel, andv indeed the weight of the entire machine, tendsto cause the front wheel to swing bodily upon the pin 24 as a. center,so that the front wheel is pressed toward the wallv 7, and against thethickened portion 19 of the wall plate l1.

Again, all the rear portion of the bicycle tends to swing upon the hub86 of the front wheel as a center, so that the rear wheel is pressedinto engagement with the wall 7,. Both the front wheel andthe rear wheelare thus held in stable equilibrium, as muchy so as if the bicyclerested in its usual horizontal position, with both of its heavily uponthe ground.

Such beingthe case, the bicycle is unable to dangle or to twistaround/if disturbediby any ordinary cause,lsuch as the wind blowing or aperson accidentally brushing against the machine.

The operation of my device is as follows:

lVhen the operator wishes to dispose of his bicycle for the timebeing,lhe lifts the machine with the front wheelupward, and inserts thefront wheel between the cross bars 1G, 17 and at the same time graspsthe ring S32-andl pulls upon the cord 3l. This moves the pin- 24ste theright according to F ig. 2, so that the rim of the frontA wheel. passesupwardly between the holes 25. The cord then being relaxed the spring 26retracts the pin 24 to normal position, the pin being thus thrustthrough the front wheel of' the bicycle. Thus the bicycle remainssuspended from the pin, vyet in a condition of stable equilibrium asabove explained. l

Any number of machines may thus be suswheels resting pended or stored,as the separate units of the system may be multiplied indefinitely.

I- do not limit myselfl to the precise mechanism shown, as variationstherefrom may be made withouty departing from the spirit of myinvention.

I claim:

l. In a device of the character described the combination of a pair of'cross bars adapted to be secured to a wall and extending parallel toeach other in a direction oblique relatively to said wall, said crossbars being spaced apart in order to permit the front wheel of abicycleto be thrustbetween them, and a supporting pin mounted upon saidsupporting bars and movable rela.- tively thereto in order to be thrustthrough said wheel and withdrawn therefrom, said supporting pin being so-positioned relatively to said wall thatv said bicycle, when suspendedfrom said pin thus thrust through said frontwheel, is by its own weightforced horizontally into firm engagement with said wall.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a ceilingplate, a wall plate, a pair of cross bars extending from said ceilingvplate to saidwall plate and disposed parallelto each other, said crossbars being spaced apart to permit the `front wheel ofl a bicycle-beingthrust between them andA being'` provided with holes in registry witheach other, a pin slidably mountedwithin said holes and adapted-tobethrust through said wheelv and; withdrawn therefrom, a. spring forretracting. said pin to its normal position, anda flexibleconnection-securedto said pin in order tomove the same fromits saidnormal position.

3. As an article` ofmanufacture a rack comprising a ceiling plate, aw-allplate, a pair of end bars extendingfrom said ceiling plate tosaid'wall plate, a pair of cross bars extending from said ceiling plateto said wall plate, a pin mounted uponfone-ofsaid cross bars andmovablefor the purpose of engaging andfdisengaging the other of' saidcross bars, a flexible connection securedA to said pin for moving thesame, and a spring connected with said pin and with one ofsaid crossbars for-the purpose offretracting said pin into a predetermined normalposition.

JEROME IRIVIN COLEN.

Copies of this patentvmay be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. C.

